2024 Dec. Paid-Up Oil & Gas Lease offer

Montana Mineral Rights Sheridan County, MT
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Good Evening,

I’m new to this forum, and new to the topic of mineral rights. In December 2024, I received a letter from a landman, containing a paid-up oil and gas lease offer regarding mineral rights in Sheridan County Montana. At the time, I was unaware that I had any mineral rights at all. Nothing was done with the offer until now, as I try to track down legal documentation of ownership. The landman’s letter notes Township 34 North, Range 55 East of the M.P.M., Sections 24 & 25, and Township 34 North, Range 56 East of the M.P.M., Sections 19 & 30. The letter indicates there is a book where the acreage is more fully described. Does anyone know what book that might be and how to gain access to it?

Where does an out of state person begin to investigate apparent inherited mineral rights? If someone doesn’t respond to a lease offer, can oil or gas be drilled and extracted without compensation to all mineral rights owners involved?

Thank you for any insight and direction anyone may be able to share.

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@kollfisch , you will need to access the county deed records in Plentywood, Montana.

If you can’t visit in person, you can hire a more local landman or title company to search for you.

Be prepared to spend a few hundred dollars, although sometimes it is less.

You can also check the Montana Oil and Gas GIS map https://bogapps.dnrc.mt.gov/dataminer/MontanaMap.aspx

to see existing wells. It did not appear there were any new wells in the sections you referenced.

Unleased mineral owners may be treated less favorably than leased owners depending on

the forced pooling rules for Montana. In the Montana rules, it did appear that there were provisions

for various risk penalties being assessed to unleased owners if a well is actually constructed.

See Montana code 82-11-202.

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As Pete mentioned, the “book” is at the county courthouse in Sheridan County. Every deed, lease, probate, etc. is filed and has a listing for a book and pages. The books are probably by year so there are lots of them. You could call the county clerk or recorder of deeds and ask if their records are online and if so, how far back they go and how to get a subscription.

I do not see any leases filed in the last 36 months in those townships.